Pioneering plans to build holiday homes on a north Suffolk pier look set to be turned down.Proposals to convert the art deco building at the landward end of Southwold pier into 12 holiday lets has prompted a series of objections in the town.
Pioneering plans to build holiday homes on a north Suffolk pier look set to be turned down.
Proposals to convert the art deco building at the landward end of Southwold pier into 12 holiday lets has prompted a series of objections in the town.
People in the picturesque town are outraged that the move will not only see the loss of the only major function room in the town, but will also dramatically alter the pier.
The Theatres Trust has added its concerns that the plan would leave Southwold with inadequate theatrical facilities and warned that there is no real justification for the loss of the community and theatre space.
Other objections have come from the Environment Agency, which has warned that the building would be at significant risk of flooding and storm damage.
Residents living nearby are concerned that the lets would put extra pressure on Waveney District Council's already over-stretched car park next to the pier.
But Stephen Bournes, the pier's owner, has argued that the £2.2m project would breathe new life into the building and would be the first conversion of its kind in the country.
He has also argued that his proposals would help the pier to have a year-round holiday season.
In a report due to go before Waveney district councillors next Wednesday, council officers have recommended that the plans are turned down, citing the loss of a community facility and the inappropriate design.
The building is currently home to the amusement arcade and the Beachcomber theatre and function room, which former owners Chris and Helen Iredale spent £100,000 restoring in 1987.
However, Mr Bournes, who took over the pier in 2005, now claims the room is under-used and detracts from the economic viability of the pier.
Southwold Town Council has claimed that the function room is only under-used because the cost of hiring it has risen from £250 to £450.
In a report to Waveney District Council, town councillors also argue that there is more than ample high-quality holiday accommodation in the town, given that 40pc of the housing stock is made up of second homes or holiday cottages and apartments.
The Theatres Trust said that the building was important for the cultural needs of the local community, and claimed that there was nothing to replace the building's loss as a theatrical venue.
The proposal with be discussed by Waveney's Rural Development Control Committee at the Town Hall in Lowestoft High Street at 6pm on Wednesday, September 6.
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